Spring Updates

It’s been
a while since I’ve posted anything about myself, so here’s a brief update.

Since finishing my master’s thesis last December, I’ve been in northeast Ohio to live somewhere cheap while I get my life in order.

Along those lines, I’ve been continuing to work on “real” writing projects, instead of just blogging. In March I shared my first magazine article, and I have another piece coming out soon in a rapidly-growing environmental publication. Stay tuned for more information!

I’ve also promised that I’ll return to the Programme for Belize Archaeological Project (PfBAP) – the field school that I worked at in 2017 – next summer. I have every intention of writing an in-depth article about that school: chronicling the work being done there and exploring how so many people, from all walks of life, became involved in it.

Before I can have any hope of getting a major assignment like that, however, I’ll need to publish some smaller, archaeology-related articles. Fortunately, there are archaeological sites not far from my house, so I have options.

Regardless of what happens with the archaeology matters, I have an amazing trip to prepare for.

Canada

I’ve previously written about my love for 3 Seasons Camp in this post. This remote fishing camp, located on the shores of Lake Kipawa and only accessible by boat, affected me like nowhere else when I first went there in 2007.

This past winter, the friends who introduced me to 3 Seasons Camp asked if I wanted to accompany them again – to which I readily agreed.

I would love to write an article about my upcoming trip. 3 Seasons Camp is an amazing place – run by the most wonderful, French-Canadian family – and more people need to know about it. Besides, this story would have everything: wild nature, engaging characters, adventure, friendship, and human-nature connection.

I won’t
know the precise angle of this story until after the trip, but I suspect that
the healing power of nature will be a central theme. While there will be
elements of adventure in the article, it won’t be an adventure story per se.
Rather, it’ll be more about reconnecting with oneself and one’s purpose by
spending time in a magical place – which happens to be in the middle of
nowhere.

If anyone has any idea of magazines that might be interested in the type of story I’ve described, please let me know! I have two publications in mind, but I’d welcome any recommendations!

So, for the rest of the Spring and Summer, I’ll be focused on working, growing my portfolio, getting sick every time I check my bank account, and preparing for my trip to Canada. I’ll do my best to keep you all informed of important events!

What about you? Do you have any exciting plans for the summer/winter (depending on which hemisphere you’re in)? Let me know in the comments section below!

I wish you the best in these endeavors. I know how it feels to get sick when you look at your bank account. My daughter calls it the “black hole” where everything disappears no matter how much you make. Well, I’m sure if you make tons you have someone else checking it and making sure it grows rather than disappear. But that’s not us regular folks. lol

Congratulations on finishing your thesis! Good luck Josh! Nat Geo Adventure? Oh, and if you say youâre going to get sick looking at your bank account you will! How about being grateful when finding surprise deposits! Send it out there into the universe!

Thanks Sid! I’m not having any Nat Geo adventures yet, but now that you mention it, I certainly wouldn’t mind being affiliated with Nat Geo in some capacity in the future. My three main interests – wildlife conservation, science communication, and archaeology – would fit quite nicely with National Geographic’s mission.

I don’t get surprise deposits, only withdraws! Still, I suppose a little more optimism would help my finances in the long run, since I’m not likely to take the necessary risks if I’m always focused on scarcity.

Oh wait, you were recommending the National Geographic Adventure magazine to me – duh. I’d love to be published in anything affiliated with Nat Geo in the future, but I feel like they’re a bit out of my league right now. I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to look into it though?

Great Projects ahead, Josh! Perhaps some bank account top-up solutions will present themselves naturally along the way. Looking forward to reading about 3 Seasons Camp and Quebec, Quebec being high on my list of places I would like to visit. Good luck with it all and enjoy!
Jacques

Have a great time at Quebec, spending time in nature in the middle of nowhere sounds just about perfect! Congrats on your articles, I hope you get many more opportunities and the remuneration for your hard work. Maybe you can try practicing the law of attraction- to manifest more money into your life! :)

You definitely deserve a trip after a milestone event such as finishing a thesis.

In my part of the world, we are looking forward to an international writer/reader conference in Ubud (very close to Bali, Indonesia) in October. This will be my fifth time at the event. It’s pretty heady stuff being around so many people trying to make a living through writing

An international writer/reader conference sounds like a lot of fun, actually. I don’t know what it’s like in Indonesia, but I find that many writers I know in the states have a witty, sarcastic sense of humor that’s quite funny.